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Movie Review: SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/16/2011

SHERLOCK HOLMES - A GAME OF SHADOWS poster | ©2011 Warner Bros.

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, Stephen Fry Writers: Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney, based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Director: Guy Ritchie Distributor: Warner Bros. Let’s get the big question out of the way at the top – yes, SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS is an improvement on its 2009 predecessor. The new film brings back Robert Downey Jr. as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved creation, nineteenth-century London sleuth Sherlock Holmes, with Jude Law reprising his role as Holmes’ sidekick/chronicler Dr. John Watson and Guy […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: HOMELAND star Damian Lewis delves into the two sides of patriotism

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/15/2011

Damian Lewis in HOMELAND - Season 1 | ©2011 Showtime/Kent Smith

Showtime’s HOMELAND, which concludes its first season with a special ninety-minute episode this Sunday at 10 PM, has had its audience dizzy with plot twists. At first, CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is sure that newly-returned POW/war hero Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody, played by Damian Lewis, has been turned into a terrorist sleeper agent during his years in captivity. Then it seems that Brody’s friend, who Brody wrongly believed he killed, is really the sleeper. But then, no, wait – for those who like their political action thriller television suspenseful and unpredictable, HOMELAND is the mother lode. London-born Lewis […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Denis O’Hare terrorizes AMERICAN HORROR STORY

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/14/2011

Denis O'Hare in AMERICAN HORROR STORY - Season 1 - "Halloween Pt. 2" | ©2011 FX/Ray Mickshaw

There are a plenty of ghosts and generally unwholesome entities roaming through FX’s hit AMERICAN HORROR STORY, Wednesdays at 10, but one of the most alarming-looking characters is the still-living Larry Harvey, played by Denis O’Hare. With severe burns over half his face, a fire-crippled body and a sightless eye, Larry’s appearance isn’t half as frightening as his personality – he’s a man who can justify anything if it suits his ego or his appetites. This isn’t O’Hare’s first brush with TV genre fame – he was also the vampire King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington, in Season Three of HBO’s […]Read On »

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Movie Review: TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/10/2011

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY movie poster | ©2011 Focus Features

Rating: R Stars: Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, Ciaran Hinds, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Simon McBurney, Mark Strong Writers: Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan, based on the novel by John Le Carre Director: Tomas Alfredson Distributor: Focus Features Release Date: December 9, 2011 John Le Carre’s novel TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY is one of the most revered espionage tales ever. Its protagonist George Smiley is the anti-Bond, a British secret agent who wears glasses, has a dodgy marriage and, though he’s no stranger to violence, spends less time dodging […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Jen Du-Prat talks about 24 HOURS IN THE ER

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/06/2011

Jen Du-Prat in 24 HOURS IN THE ER | ©2011 BBCa

The most popular unscripted show in England this year has been 24 HOURS IN THE ER. The series, which has done well in its American home on BBC America on Tuesday nights, follows the real staff in the Accident and Emergency Department of London’s King’s College Hospital as they deal with patients throughout the day and night. Jennifer Du-Prat is one of the senior sisters (as the British call their head nurses) at the hospital. As a medical professional, TV stardom was one of the last things she expected from her career. She talks about her job and the effect […]Read On »

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Interview: Monkees member Davy Jones chats MY MUSIC: ’60s POP ROCK’

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 12/02/2011

Davy Jones performs on MY MUSIC: '60s POP ROCK | ©2011 PBS

Davy Jones remains one of the most enduring icons of ‘60s pop, thanks largely to the fact that as the primary lead singer of the Monkees, he was insanely popular, but also because he’s still performing now. For people of a certain age, the Monkees were indelible. Yes, the ‘60s band – Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith – were originally put together by NBC network casting executives and played a lot of material by outside songwriters, but the songs were catchy, the show was fun (and actually subversive when rewatched by adults), and the band has remained […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Juliet Landau on DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/30/2011

Juliet Landau in the stage production of DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA

Anyone who has been part of an acting class in the last three decades has probably encountered at least sections of John Patrick Shanley’s play DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA. Its emotion-filled confrontations and small cast make it ideal for scene study. Originally produced off-Broadway in 1984, the two-character drama concerns Danny and Roberta, two lonely and troubled people who meet in a bar in the Bronx, hook up and spend the next twenty-four hours deciding if they’d rather get closer, run away, or beat the hell out of each other. Actors Juliet Landau and Matthew J. Williamson and […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Morena Baccarin – from V to HOMELAND

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/27/2011

Morena Baccarin in HOMELAND - Season 1 | ©2011 Showtime/Kent Smith

In Showtime’s new series HOMELAND, already renewed for another year, Damian Lewis plays Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody, who was presumed dead but was rescued after eight years of captivity and torture in the Middle East. The CIA wonders if Brody has been turned into a sleeper agent, but his family – wife Jessica, played by Morena Baccarin, and their two children – are more concerned about simply reintegrating him into his home. Born in Rio de Janeiro and raised in New York, Baccarin has played all sorts of characters, but until now, she’s been best known for her work in the […]Read On »

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Movie Review: HUGO

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 11/23/2011

HUGO movie poster | ©2011 Paramount Pictures

Rating: PG Stars: Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Michael Stuhlbarg, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths, Jude Law Writer: John Logan, based on the novel THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick Director: Martin Scorsese Distributor: Paramount Release Date: November 23, 2011 Anyone not acquainted with the subject matter of Brian Selznick’s book THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET might wonder what about it caused Martin Scorsese to decide to make a family film. The attraction becomes clear while watching director Scorsese’s HUGO, from John Logan’s screenplay […]Read On »

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Movie Review: ARTHUR CHRISTMAS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN

ARTHUR CHRISTMAS Movie Poster | ©2011 Sony Pictures

Rating: PG Stars (voices): James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Ashley Jensen, Imelda Staunton Writers: Peter Baynham & Sarah Smith Director: Sarah Smith Distributor: Columbia Pictures Release Date: November 23, 2011 Some fantasy subgenres are so populous that they have arguably outgrown the designation of “sub”: the lovelorn vampire, the quest through mystical lands, the zombie apocalypse. Add to this list (and check it twice) the genre of Santa having gift delivery issues on Christmas Eve. The newest iteration of this last is ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, the first 3D CGI animation (as opposed to stop-motion Claymation) offering from Aardman, […]Read On »